Production of crimped filaments, yarns, or fibers



Aug. 10, 1937. D. FINLAYSON ET AL 9 PRODUCTION OF CRIMPED FILAMENTS, YARNS, OR FIBERS Original Filed May 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l DONALD FlNLAYSUN F A K HAPPEY PNVENT'ORS KITOR NEYS Aug. '10, 1937.- D. FINLAYSQN ET AL 2,089,199

PRODUCTION OF CRIMPED FILAMENTS, YARNS, OR FIBERS Original Filed May 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DONALD FINLAYSDN FRANK HAPPEY f Ham/r75 Patented Aug. 10, 1937' PATENT OFFICE PRODUCTION OF CRIDIPED FILAMENTS,

YARNS, OR FIBERS Donald Finlayson, Spondon, near Derby, and

Frank Happey, Cleckheaton, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application May 14, 1935, Serial No. 21,376. Re-

newed January 13, 1937. In Great Britain June 14 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of crimped filaments, yarns or fibers, and is a continuation in part of U. S. application S. No. 127,-

609 filed May 26, 1934. U. S. application S. No. 727,609 describes a process and apparatus for imparting crimp to yarns, particularly yarns made of normally straight continuous or discontinuous filaments, the crimping being effected by setting twist in a yarn while the yarn is travelling and subsequently removing the twist from the yarn. In this way the straight, smooth structure characteristic of continuous filaments or fibers formed from continuous filaments is replaced by a structure resembling that found, for

1 example, in fibers such as cotton or wool.

The modified structure imparted by the addition of crimp to the filaments from which fibers are formed gives the fibrous yarns full-handling and springy properties similar to those ordinarily 20 found in yarns made from natural fibers. Similar results may be obtained by applying crimp in the manner described to yarns already containing staple fibers. Again, a yam consisting of continuous filaments may with advantage have crimp imparted to it and thus receive added volumincsity as well as changed appearance and other characteristics. In the methods specifically described in U. S. application 8. No. 727,609 filed May 26, 1934, 30 the crimp is imparted to the yarn by applying a setting medium, e. g. steam, hot air, solvent vapours in suitable concentration or other vaporous or gaseous medium or a liquid setting medium such as a dilute solvent, to a travelling yarn which 35 has already received twist. Such twist may either be a true twist imparted to the yarn in an operation previous to the twist-setting operation, or it may be a twist imparted to the yarn immediately before the setting operation. 40 Thus," for example, the yarn may be passed through a false-twisting device, the setting medium being applied to the length of the yarn containing the temporary twist, the removal of the false twist taking place in the one operation to leave the yarn after setting of the twist with of the yarn arising from eiiecting the treatment while the yarn is travelling.

The application of a setting medium to this part of the length of the yarn, which is subjected to the tension accompanying the twisting oper- 5 ation, is particularly eifective in setting the twist in the yarn, and therefore in causing each filament or fiber in the yarn to receive a substantially permanent crimp. On subsequent untwisting of the yarn, the twist is removed, but the crimp remains in the filaments or fibers of the yarn. The untwisting may be efiected continuously with the twisting and setting operation, e. g. by the use of a twist tube or the like, which imparts only a false twist to the yarn, or by 001- lecting the yarn on a twisting device adapted to impart a twist in the direction opposite to that of the original twist. Alternatively the untwisting may take place as an operation subsequent to the twisting and setting operation.

By way of example, methods suitable for carrying out the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method;

Figs. 2 and 3 show details of. Fig. 1 on a larger scale;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a further form' of apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention; and Figure 6 is a side elevation of a further form of apparatus in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, a yarn 4 is supplied to a pair of feed rollers 5, the yarn 4 being untwisted, or containing a small amount of twist, e. g. up to ten turns per inch and conveniently up to twoand-a-hali to five turns per inch as is usual with artificial yarns directly following their manufacture. The yarn 4 is fed upwardly by means of the rollers 5 through a rotatable tube 6. The tube 6 is mounted in bearings I and is driven by means of a wharl 8, the bearings I being mounted in turn on a spindle rail 9 adapted to carry a .series of tubes ii. The lower end of the tube 6 is provided with an inverted funnel Ill into which steam is fed from a header ll provided with a nozzle l2. The lower end of the tube is provided with a disc i3 secured between the end of the tube and the inverted funnel iii, the disc I3 bein provided, as shown in Fig. 3, with a hook-like member ll. A cap i5 is provided at the upper 55 end of the tube provided with a similar hooklike member l6.

The rotation of the tube 6 by means of the wharl 8 inserts a false twist in the yarn 4, which is engaged by the hooks l4 and 16. Steam is applied to the yarn 4- at the time when such false twist is being inserted in the yarn, that is,

within the funnel Ill. The steam passes up the The steam applied from the header ll may be slightly wet, or it may become wet by condensation in the funnel III, or in the tube i, it having been found that wet steam is particularly eflicacious as a setting medium, especially when applied to yarns of cellulose acetate or other organic derivatives of cellulose. Vapours of solvents or softeners for the substance of the yarn may, however, be used to set the twist.

A form of device suitable for applying a setting medium is described in British Patent No. 440,653. This device is shown in Figure 4 in place of the header II and nozzle l2 described with reference to Figure 1. Steam or other gaseous setting medium is admitted to the chamber 2| which is provided with offset member 22 affording a passage for the yarn, during which passage it is exposed to the setting medium. The yarn, leaving the offset member 22, enters the false-twisting device as described with reference to Figure 1. The

false twist imparted by the device is imparted to the yarn before it actually reaches the device, 1. e. wholly or partly in the offset member '22 and/or the chamber 2|. The offset member 22 besides concentrating the setting medium upon the yarn passing through it may also serve in cases where steam is applied as setting medium to bring about condensation of the steam.

Another method of carrying out the invention is illustrated in Figure 5, in which yarn 4 in an untwisted form or containing a small amount of twist, is withdrawn from a twisting device 28 and passed through the chamber 2| with the onset member 22 described with reference to Figure 4, said chamber and offset member being disposed immediately above, and in line with, the twisting device, so that the yarn is subjected to the: action of a setting medium over a length in which twist applied by the twistingspindle is being inserted. On leaving the offset member 22 the yarn 4 is passed through the guide 24 to the feed rollers 25, from which it is passed through the stationary guide 26 and collected by a reverse-twisting device 21. If desired, the amount of reverse twisti'mparted by the device 21 may, in the case of continuous filament/yarn, e rcee sia the amount of twistinserted by the device Instead of the reverse twist being carried out continuously with the twisting and setting, the yarn 4 may, after leaving the offset member 22, I

be passed through the stationary guide II as shown in Figure 6, and thence to a traverse guide l8 to be collected 'on the take-up bobbin I! as described withreference to Figure 1. In this form of the invention the yarn is collected in its set, twisted form, and may, at'a later stage of manufacture, be twisted in the reverse direction to effect any desired amount of untwisting, which, in the. case of continuous filament yarn, may even be greater than the amount of twist in the set yarn. The take-up bobbin I9 is conveniently of a type that may be applied directly to a twisting spindle to enable the reverse twisting to be carried out.

Crimped continuous filament yarns produced according to the present invention, whether produced by a false twisting operation, or by imparting true twist which is subsequently removed, can readily'be cut into fibers, and such fibers Y may (as also those produced according to U. 8.

application S. No. 727,609 filed May 26, 1934) be spun into a yarn, alone, or in admixture with other fibers in a manner similar to cotton or wool fibers. Again, the yarn may be directly converted into yarn containing staple fibers in the manner described in U. S. Patents Nos. 1,959,142 and 1,956,600 and U. S. ,Patent NO. 1,999,415 and British Patent No. 424,683.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1: Process for crimping yarn comprising imparting twist to a travelling yarn, applying a setting medium to said travelling yarn at a point where the yarn is receiving the twist imparted, and subsequently removing at least part of the twist from the yarn. r

2. Process for crimping yarn comprising imparting twist to a travelling yarn, applying a setting medium to said travelling yarn ata point where the yarn is receiving the twist imparted, and simultaneously collecting and untwisting said yarn.

3. Process for crimping yarn comprising imthe yarn is receiving such false twist, and sub-;

sequently collecting said yarn.

6. Process for crimping yarn comprising imparting twist to a travelling yarn, applying to said travelling yarn at a point where the yarn is receiving the twist imparted a solvent material for the substance of the yarn, so as to set -thetwist therein, and subsequently removing at least part of the twist from the yarn.

7. Process for crimping yarn comprising imparting twist to a travelling yarn, applying to said travelling yarn at a point where the yarn is receivingthe twist imparted the vapours of a solvent material for the substance ,of the yarn so as to set the twist therein, and subsequently removing at least part of the twist from the yarn. V.--

8. Process for crimping cellulose acetate yarn comprising imparting twist to a travelling cellulose acetate yarn, applying to said travelling yarn at a point where the yarn is receiving the twist imparted a solvent material for the substance of the yarn, so as toset the twist therein, and subsequently removing at least part of the twist from the yarn.

9. Apparatus for crimping yarns comprising a twisting device for applying twist to a travelling yarn and means disposed at a point where the yarn receives the twist imparted by such twist ing device for applying a setting agent to the yarn.

10. Apparatus for crimping yarns comprising a twisting device for applying twist to a yarn, an untwisting device for removing twist from the yarn, means for delivering the yarn from said twisting device to said untwisting device, and means disposed between said devices at a point where the yarn receives the twist imparted by said twisting device for applying a setting agentto the twisted yarn.

11. Apparatus for crimping yarns comprising a false-twisting device adapted to impart a temporary twist to a travelling yarn, and means for applying a setting agent to said yarn at a point.

where said yarn receives the temporary twist imparted by said false-twisting device.

12. Apparatus for crimping yarns comprising a twisting device for applying twist to a yarn,

and a steam chamber adapted to surround said yarn at a point where said yarn receives the twist imparted by said twisting device.

13. Apparatus for crimping yarn comprising a false-twisting device adapted to impart a temporary twist to a travelling yarn, and a steam chamber adapted to surround said yarn at a point where said yarn receives the twist imparted by said twisting device.

1%. Apparatus for crimping yarn, comprising a false-twisting device adapted to impart a temporary twist to a travelling yarn, and a device adapted to apply steam to the travelling yarn at a point where said yarn receives the temporary twist imparted by said false-twisting device, said device including a chamber, a hollow member ofiset with respect to the chamber, and, in communication therewith, guide openings to lead the yarn into and out of the offset member, and means to admit steam into the chamber.

DONALD FINLAYSON.

i 11 PEY. 

